In Sleep A King
by Ishie
Summary: For eight years, they struggled to let their better angels be heard. At this, the final moment, their actions will pass into history and they will be judged.rnAn original teleplay. Series finale. Posting in installments.
1. Teaser

AUTHOR'S NOTES: What I know about Presidential administration transition wouldn't fill a thimble, so my apologies for any errors. This is merely an indulgence, a love letter of sorts to the end of a fictional era. As of this writing, it is still unknown whether The West Wing will continue into a post-Bartlet era so this story acts as a series finale. I would place it as the final episode of the sixth season, provided of course that the real writers of the show picked up the pace a little bit. Hmmm, maybe it's a Very Special Two Hour TV Movie, Homicide-style! At the rate this teleplay is growing, it's going to have to be.

I fudged a little with the current timeline, mostly concerning Margaret's pregnancy and maternity leave. Just go with it.

Come on, now! Sing it with me! Doo _dooooo_ do do doo, doo doo _dooo_ do do do _doooo_...

Also, this is my first attempt at screenplay format. I realize that the descriptions are a bit, er, verbose, so let's just consider this a spec script rather than a shooting script. Be gentle.

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"IN SLEEP A KING"

An original West Wing teleplay  
By ishie

The FLAG flaps in the breeze over a picture of THE WHITE HOUSE.

**V.O.  
**Previously, on The West Wing.

**MONTAGE:**

LEO MCGARRY invites JOSH LYMAN to New Hampshire. TOBY ZIEGLER hires CJ CREGG. Josh demonstrates his poker face to SAM SEABORN. PRESIDENT BARTLET tells JOHN HOYNES he shouldn't have had to beg. ABBEY BARTLET talks to DONNA MOSS in a hospital waiting room. CHARLIE YOUNG wakes the President. DELORES LANDINGHAM scolds someone offscreen.

The scenes get shorter and shorter as we flash quickly through some of the highlights of the last eight seasons. We see most of the familiar faces: DANNY CONCANNON, CAROL, DEBBIE FIDERER, MARGARET, KATE, NANCY, BONNIE, CATHY, GINGER, the BARTLET DAUGHTERS, and RON BUTTERFIELD.

The scenes flash by even faster. We see some less familiar faces in rapid sequence: ANDI, ADMIRAL FITZWALLACE, NANCY MCNALLY, SECRETARY HUTCHINSON, AINSLEY HAYES, OLIVER BABISH, AMY GARDNER, MANDY HAMPTON, MATTHEW SANTOS, VINICK, BOB RUSSELL, WILL BAILEY, CLIFF CALLEY and more.

The last clip fades to white.

**SMASH CUT TO:**

**TITLE CARD: In Sleep a King**

**FADE IN:**

**EXT. WHITE HOUSE - NIGHT**

A steady rain DRUMS on the roof of the portico. Two SECRET SERVICE AGENTS stand at attention outside the Oval Office. Their breath can be seen, twin wisps of vapor in the cold January air.

We hear the faint strains of MUSIC swell. Gently, the staccato BEAT of the rain sounds more like the TICKING of a metronome. This is slow music, but not sad. It gives us the sense of time running out.

Through one of the doors, we see Debbie Fiderer filing documents into white cardboard boxes. The Seal of the President is visible on the side of one of them. Various low-level staffers move slowly but steadily in and out of the room.

Golden light spills out of the other door, the entrance to the Oval Office. In stark contrast to the outer office, no one is moving in this room. We move in closer on a still figure seated in one of the two armchairs.

**INT. OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT**

President Bartlet is motionless. His hands are clasped over the head of a cane that rests between his legs. He is lost in thought, his face blank and tired. He's older than we realized.

The room is in the final stages of packing. The desk is bare of all papers. Even the blotter and decorative pen holders are gone. We swing around the office, taking in the blank spaces on the walls and the empty spot where the Remington sculpture resided. The family photos are no longer sitting beneath the window.

The music slows down just

Bartlet doesn't move, except to close his eyes.

**INT. CHIEF OF STAFF'S OFFICE - NIGHT**

CJ is standing behind her desk. Her office has also been stripped of mementos, except for GAIL, whose bowl still holds a position of honor on the desktop. There is a small placard stuck in the pebbles. It reads CLOSED FOR BUSINESS.

CJ calls out instructions and questions as Margaret, Charlie and several others move in and out of the office. They cross from one door to another to the beat of the music. It's like they're dancing, all slow moves and graceful turns. All are carrying folders, binders and other materials.

**CJ  
**Make sure that the national security memos...

**MARGARET  
**Yeah.

**CJ  
**Did someone from Nancy's office...

**CHARLIE  
**Yeah.

**CJ  
**Someone called the...

**MARGARET  
**(softly)  
We're doing it.

A beat.

**CJ  
**(resigned)  
Yeah.

**INT. WHITE HOUSE HALLWAYS - NIGHT**

The camera flows out past Margaret's desk. More of the same: empty shelves, mostly bare desk, stacks of boxes. This is really happening.

We see the familiar bullpens and offices. The music grows a little more mournful as we realize that everyone is moving a little slower than normal. There aren't many familiar faces. The support staff started quietly exiting some time ago, scattering like lifeboats from a sinking ship. The music covers the lack of ringing phones and heated debates. The television monitors are off.

Some offices have closed doors and no lights and stacks of sealed boxes litter the corridors. It seems darker, quieter, smaller. Diminished.

**INT. COMMUNICATIONS BULLPEN - NIGHT**

Most of the overhead lights have been turned off. The computers have all been shut off. All the monitors are dark for the first time in years. As in the rest of the West Wing, we see stacks of boxes, but most of these are labeled TRANSITION HQ - COM.

We move toward what used to be the Deputy Communications Director's office. The blinds have been pulled tight and the door is shut.

We see Toby's office. His door is also closed, but there is a note taped to it. It reads:

**NOTE**  
Farewell! Thou art too dear for my possessing.

The camera lingers on this note for a moment before retreating and moving back into the hallways.

**INT. WHITE HOUSE HALLWAYS - NIGHT**

We see the Roosevelt Room. It is unchanged. We move through the deserted Press Briefing Room, lingering for just a moment on the podium. We glide backward over the sea of empty chairs and into the small office at the back. Even the press affiliations have been removed from the backs of the chairs. Here and there, small lamps are lit. It's just enough to highlight the dark, still space. We move down the small set of stairs. We feel the weight of a thousand small moments through the years.

The TICKING of a clock rises as the music fades. Time is running out.

**INT. CHIEF OF STAFF'S OFFICE - NIGHT**

CJ is alone now. She crosses the room and closes both of the outer doors. She rests her forehead against one for a moment, eyes closed, body tense.

She chokes back a small sob and turns to the remaining door. The one that still stands open.

The one that leads to the President.

**CJ  
**(softly)  
And here we stand, at the turning of the years.

The MUSIC swells into the familiar theme as CJ strides through the door and knocks. At a signal from within, she opens the door to the Oval and enters. The camera pulls back as she moves forward. We glimpse the back of Bartlet's head.

**CJ **(cont'd)  
Mr. President ...

**SMASH CUT TO:**

**MAIN TITLES**

**COMMERCIALS**


	2. Thou Knowst Thy Estimate

**FADE IN:**

**TITLE CARD: Monday**

**INT. RESTAURANT - DAY**

A busy, upscale restaurant at lunchtime. The interior of the building is brightly lit, but the windows show a darkened midday cityscape. Rain isn't falling yet but it's only a matter of time.

Well-dressed men and women crowd around most of the tables. Conversation is kept to a dull roar. A table near the kitchen door holds a family of tourists, inappropriately dressed and wide-eyed. The father (or mother) points occasionally to recognizable figures around the room.

The waitstaff scurries from table to table, balancing glasses on trays and juggling plates of food.

Josh Lyman sits alone at a booth along one wall. He is nursing a pale beer and checking his phone for messages. Or email. It's one of those overly large and complicated phone/PDA hybrids. He presses a few buttons and it squawks at him. He's annoyed, at it and at himself. His hair is short but still manages to stick out at odd angles. He's run his fingers through that mop more than once today.

**JOSH  
**(agitated)  
For the love of... Just give me the damn message!

He quickly glances around, hoping no one heard him cursing a lump of plastic.

**JOSH **(cont'd)  
(grumbling)  
A child could use it, my

**DONNA  
**Problem, Joshua?

She has materialized beside his table. He flushes and tucks the phone under the suit jacket next to him.

**JOSH  
**Nah. Just.. a thing. Nothing important.

He rises from the table to give her a kiss on the cheek and a hug that neither one seems willing to end.

**JOSH** (cont'd)  
(whispers)  
Thank you for coming, Donnatella.

She closes her eyes for a moment, then awkwardly pulls herself out of his embrace. They smile at each other for a bit, mindlessly. Finally, they remember where they are and sit down on opposite sides of the table.

**DONNA  
**I have to admit, I didn't expect you to call. It's so  
close to the Inauguration and there are a million  
things to do. Not that I need to tell you that; I mean,  
you've been through all this a few times already.  
Well, so have I, but it's different when you...

Josh smirks as she trails off. Donna frowns a little and fidgets with her napkin.

**DONNA** (cont'd)  
I thought I'd finally broken that rambling habit.

**JOSH  
**(amused)  
I bring out the best in you.

**DONNA  
**(exasperated)  
I wouldn't say that exactly.

**JOSH  
**Hey!

**DONNA  
**So, how are you? How's, um, things?

**JOSH  
**How's things? That's the best you've got?

**DONNA  
**It's been a long couple of months, Joshua.A long,  
tedious, exhausting, thrilling couple of months.

**JOSH  
**Yeah.

**DONNA  
**I feel like I could sleep for a year.

**JOSH  
**(groaning)  
Oh, yeah.

**DONNA  
**Seriously, a whole year. Fifty-two weeks  
of rest and relaxation. Three hundred sixty-five  
uninterrupted days and nights of blissful slumber.

**JOSH  
**Hell, I'd settle for six hours at a stretch.

**DONNA  
**Oh, yes! No phones, no pagers...

**JOSH  
**No knocks on the door...

**TOGETHER  
**No 24-hour news channels!

They grin at each other. Donna picks up her menu while Josh takes another sip of his pale beer.

**DONNA  
**Neither of us would last a full day. Seriously,  
though, are you getting enough rest? Youlook  
as tired as I feel, and I know I'm not getting  
nearly enough...

**JOSH  
**(forcefully)  
I'm fine, Donna.

**DONNA  
**(lightly)  
No need to get your knickers in a twist,  
Josh. I'm just asking, one friend to another.

**JOSH  
**(sheepishly)  
Sorry.

He tries to look her in the eye, but she's looking over his shoulder for their waiter. He grabs one of her hands. Their eyes meet.

**JOSH** (cont'd)  
Really, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped  
at you. I'm not getting enough sleep... There's  
a lot on my mind right... Friends? Is that what we are?

He still hasn't let go of her hand, but she's in no hurry to pull it away.

**DONNA  
**Of course we are! What, you think just  
because you act like, well, you, that I'd...

He interrupts her before she can finish.

**JOSH  
**After the way I've treated youThe last few  
years... I'm sorry, Donna. You were always  
there for me and I wasn't there for you...

**DONNA  
**(softly)  
You were when it counted.

He can't form a response to that. He's remembering how small and frail she looked in that German hospital bed. She's remembers him post-Rosslyn: blood and stitches and tubes, a pair of too-large pajamas, a bandaged hand. We remember these things too as we see their eyes, soft and hurt. They say more in a shared glance than they have in their eight-plus years of banter.

**JOSH  
**I never told you how much I needed you.  
You kept that office running, kept me  
running. I wouldn't have lasted a month  
without you telling me what to do, where  
to go and who needed an apology...

Donna tightens her grip on Josh's hand.

**DONNA  
**I knew.

They are silent for a moment. The restaurant has ceased to exist for them.

Finally, Donna breaks the moment.

**DONNA** (cont'd)  
But would it have killed you  
to give me a raise?

**CUT TO:**

**INT. LEO'S OFFICE - DAY**

Leo's office is, like all the others, clearly in the midst of packing. A few briefing books remain on the bookcase. There are two visitors chairs in front of the desk, backs to the door.

Margaret sits in one of the chairs, clearly uncomfortable without a desk and keyboard. She is talking softly into a cell phone.

**MARGARET  
**Is he sleeping? He should be sleeping now.  
He's used to a very strict schedule: One bottle  
every four hours and a short nap afterwards.  
It's very important that he... Yes. Okay. Yes.  
No. No, I... Okay.

Leo has walked in through the door behind her. He looks momentarily surprised to see her, but his expression quickly fades to one of muted pleasure. A grin nearly breaks across his face as he listens to her.

**MARGARET** (cont'd)  
CJ gave me the afternoon off, so I should be  
back shortly. I just have a few errands to run.  
No, Dad, I'm not still in the White House...  
Yes. Okay. I'll be back before your soap opera  
starts. No, I know you don't watch them...  
Right. Bye.

**LEO  
**Playing hooky?

Margaret jumps out of her chair and screams a little at the sound of Leo's voice. She turns to face him and presses a hand to her chest.

**MARGARET  
**You scared the bejeesus out of me, Leo!  
You really shouldn't do that to a recently  
pregnant woman, you know.

**LEO  
**Aww, I know. Come here.

He hugs her.

**LEO** (cont'd)  
You look good. I know I've said this  
a few times already, but congratulations.

**MARGARET  
**Thank you. The flowers were beautiful.  
As were the booties, the bibs, the mobile,  
the rattle...

They've separated and stand a few feet away from each other. He waves her into the chair she previously occupied and sits down next to her. He's grinning, an expression that lights up his whole face.

**LEO  
**If you're going to list everything we got you,  
we'll be here until the next administration ends.

**MARGARET  
**Yeah.

**LEO**  
I take it that your parents are still in town?

**MARGARET  
**They're leaving in a week or two. Mom  
refuses to leave until I'm... we're out of  
the White House.

**LEO  
**Not much time left, is there?

**MARGARET  
**A matter of days now.

They both pause, faces solemn.

**MARGARET** (cont'd)  
Which is why I'm here. CJ gave me the  
afternoon off, so I could take care of a few  
personal matters. Dry cleaning, haircut,  
job search...

**LEO  
**Margaret...

**MARGARET  
**I know we haven't had a chance to really  
talk since I came back from maternity leave.  
You've been busy with the President and I've  
been trying to wrap up CJ's things. But,  
before it's too late, I wanted to speak with you.

**LEO  
**Margaret!

**MARGARET  
**It's just that... Well, I don't know what you'll  
be doing next, but I wanted to make the offer...  
I know not many people would hire a woman,  
a single woman, with a baby. Worries about  
dedication and priorities... Not that you need  
to worry about my priorities, Leo. You know  
me better than that. When I'm at work, I am  
totally focused on what needs to be done...

Leo has watched her give this speech with the beginnings of another smile growing. He interrupts.

**LEO  
**Margaret, will you do me the very great honor  
of being my assistant again?

**MARGARET  
**I'd be delighted, Mr. McGarry.

**LEO  
**You understand that I'll require about 50 less  
talking. And no nagging.

**MARGARET  
**I don't know about that.

**LEO**  
Okay.

**MARGARET  
**Okay. I'm gonna go.

**LEO  
**Yeah.

She rises to leave.

**LEO  
**We'll sit down at lunch tomorrow and talk  
about the details.

A beat.

**LEO** (cont'd)  
He's a beautiful baby. You did good, kid.

Margaret nods, the movement a little jerky. She looks like she's about to cry, but she's happy. Proud. She exits, passing Charlie just outside the doorway.

**MARGARET  
**Bye, Leo. Hi, Charlie. Bye, Charlie.

**CHARLIE  
**See you tomorrow.  
(to Leo)  
CJ wants to see you. There's a thing.

**LEO  
**(sighs)  
When isn't there.  
Tell her I'll be there  
in a minute.

Charlie nods and walks away. Leo sits down heavily behind his desk and gazes out the window.

**LEO  
**(softly)  
Whole houses, right off the ground.

**FADE OUT**

**COMMERCIALS**


End file.
